Artificial larynx



Filed Jan. 8, 1950 //v VEN 7'0)? 61W BUR CHETT M W A 7'7'0/?NY Patented July l2, 1932 UNITE s'r TES Lama;

PATENT "OFFICE;

GEORGE XV. BURCHETT, OF P EEKSKILL, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO BELL TELEPHONE V LABORATORIES, INCORPORATED, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK .anrmrciar. LARYNX' Application filed January 1 930. Serial No. 419,423.

This invention relatesto artificial larynges and more particularly to an improvement therein by which a user of an artificial larynx may operate the instrument either as "5 a breather device or a tone producer.

It is an object of this invention to make possible the operation of an artificial larynx alternately as a breather device or a tone producer without the user of the instrument having to. use his hands.

Features of this invention reside in a valve member which in one position allows aperson to breathe through the lnstrument and in another position serves to make air exhale cl through the instrument operate a v1- bratory element, and in a. lever control arrangement therefor by which operation of of the improved instrument showing in full lines, the open position of the valve member and in dotted lines the valve member in closed position; and

Figs. .3 and 4 are top .and bottom plan views, respectively of the improved artificial larynx.

In cases where the larynxhas become infected with cancer or some other malignant 7 disease, it is now the practice toremove the larynx by a surgical operation and terminate the trachea or wind pipe in'an opening in,

the front of the base portion of the neck. -Removal of the larynx deprives the person so operated upon of the power of speech for under normal conditions air forced from the -lungs'through the tracheapa'sses through the larynx and sets up therein vibrations of the vocal cords which produce sound. The

sound generated in the larynx passes upward intothe mouth and nasal cavities where by various changes in the shape of these areas.

by. movement of the mouth and tongue; the sound is modulated into speech. With the larynx removed no tone or sound having a frequency which may be modulated intoi intelligible speech can be produced and with the trachea terminated in. an exterior opening in the neck no sound generated can be passed. upward through the regular throat channels into the mouth and nasal cavities.

To restore the power of speech to a person from whom the larynx has been removed, an.

artificial larynx or tone producing instrument has been devised in which by air exhalations from the trachea or a suitable artificial air current producer, a tone maybe produced the tone producedin the instrument into the mouth and'nasal cavities for efl'ectivemodulation.

In tone'producing instruments of this kind which are commonly called artificial laryn-v ges, it has been the practice to provide in the which may be modulated into- 'speech'f An outlet of this tone producing instrument is usually placed in the mouth, of a user to get wall of the instrument casing a breather port through which the user'of the instrument may breathe ifhe hasthe instrument con-v 'nected with the trachea, without having to remove the instrument from the 'mouth. This breather port ordinarily is .an aperture in the casing wall and is closed by a. finger of the user when the instrument is being used as a tone producer. Operation of the instru ment in this manner necessitates at least the use of one hand and to eliminatethe necessity of this hand operation of an instrument of this kind is an object of this invention.

To accomplish this object a valve member which may be iopened'and closed under con- 1 trol of the jaw movements of a user has been provided. This improved instrument may be held in the mouth during talking and breath; ing operations and a user may alternately talk and breathflwith the instrument in his mouth in much the same manner as a person will alternately talk and smoke while holding a smoking pipe between the teeth. j

To further describe this invention'reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing in which 1 is an artificial larynx having a cas ng 2 an inlet connect on 8 and an outlet connection 4. 'The inlet connecteeth the mouthpiece 19 and the adjacent end 1 pipe 5.

tion 3 may be brought into connection with thetrachea or wind pipe 5 by means of a suitable air passage having for instance an elbow fitting 6, a flexible or suitably bent tube 7 and a trachea connection 8 which engages the outlet 9 of the trachea or {wind pipe 5 locate'd'in the neck 10 of a user of the instrument. i j

In a topplateor cap 11 in whichis locatedthe outlet eonnection 4; a breather port 12 has been provided through which air may pass to and from the lungs of the userthrough the artificial larynx 1, the connecting members 3, 6, 7 and 8 and "the trachea -or Wind- Fulcrumed at 13 on an extension portion 14 of the *top plate or cap 11 is a valve lever 15 having on oneend 16 a pad or disc 17 5 which inayjbe of rubber or felt or like ma teria'l or of comparatively soft metal and which when'brought down by the valve lever 15 to seat onf'the breather port 12 will sub- "'passage of air.

stantially close the breather port] 12 to the [The valve-lever 15is extendedupward and .rearwardly from the 'fulcrum point' 13 a seriesfo'f alternate bends and substantially straight portions until it reachejsa point 18 which is'in 'fairly closeproximity to a mouth 1 comparatively short-distance infapl'ane sub stantiallyi parallel with-the plane of the piece 19 and thereafter extends along for a mouthpiece 19 and terminates in a lip or bent Y 7 down portion 20.

i The mouthpiece'l9maybe of bakelite or hard rubber or any suitable material for' Igrippingbetween the teeth of a user andat- I tached b an" 'racticable means such for in- .y Y P a stance as anelbowfitting21 to the outlet 4 of v theartificiallarynx, T y j I'The valve lever '15 ,pre'terablyris normally maintained ine'ither a ort closing or port Iopening' position and may "be so maintained r in elther of these positions in any practicable manner.

One-way in which this maybe done isshownin the drawing whereina leaf spring '22 secured at one end 23'to the under side of the elbow. 21 has its 'free end 24 bearing against :an upperportion of the valve lever 1 5. In the. structure shownthe leaf spring I 22 normally urges'the' one end of the valve Ilever -15 a\vay from the mouthpiece 19 and yraises the pad bearing end :16 of the valve lever and thepad 17 away'from the breather, po'rt12r if he artificial larynx'l as so described may fbe heldin theimouth of the user as-shown'in F 1, and the breather port 12 closed as shown by the -.user gripping between his "Qportion of the valve lever 15 In this posi- 7 tion the breather port12 being closed by the pad 17, air 'forced upward from thejtrachea 5 through thetrachea connection 8, 'the tube "7, 'fitting'ti, inlet connection 3 and sointo the V reed into and out of the low pressure-area cavities where it is modulated and 'formed vaperture 28 is provided in the wall 2 7 and the free end 29 of the reed 25 is located across this aperture. "With the breather port 12 closed air currents'torced into the casing 2 "through the inlet-connection 3 and passing throughthe tone channel 30 and through the outlet connection4,' create under the treeend 29 the' reed 25 aplo w' pressure area. The free end 29 of the reed 25 is movedagainst'its own spring tension into this .low pressure area until sufficient spring tension has been generated Within the reed to throw the free end 29 back to its normai'position. The alternate movements of the free end of the sets up air vibrations which produce a :tone

in the tone channel 30 andthis tone passes through the outlet connection 4;, elbow '21 and mouthpiece '19 intothe mouth and nasal into speech. g p d V Now when a user of this artificial larynx desires to breathe'through the instrument he may'release'lris jaw pressure on the-mouthpiece 19 and I valve lever 15'' sufficiently to a llowthe spring 22 .to'movethe mouthend 20 ,tifthe valve lever 15 away from the mouthpiece lQ which will result in the pad supportin end .16 of the lever 'and'the pad '17"be'ing moved away from thebreather'port 12; Air

may then be passed to and from the lungs through the breather port 12, casing-2 inlet connection'B, elbow'6, tube'7, trachea connection 8 and trachea 5 as has been explained.

The valv'e lever '15 has been shownEinFig.

3 as having an enlarged portion at 31 and an aperture 32 therein to accommodate the outlet connection t. Iti's quite obvious, 'however; that one side of the enlarged portion 31 may be removed without destroying the efiecs, tiv en ess of the valveleveror that the valve lever 15 may be made in various other forms. It should also be recognized that various other changes and modifications maybe made in the structure shown,-such for instance as providing a helical spring .at the fulcrum point '13 'of the s'valve lever 15 instead o-fthe I leaf :sprin g122 or that any other :resilient a or compression means may be employeditomaintam the valve" lever in normal position and that'normally the breather port 12 maybe "kept closed by the spring operated 'lever and the lever so arranged" that gripping 'of 'the mouthpiece and valve lever will open: instead "of close the port 12, without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an artificial larynx having an inlet connection, an outlet connection and a tone producing element, abreather valve and control means therefor, through the operation of I which the artificial larynx maybe used as either a breather or a tone producer, said control means supported by the outlet connection and operable by aw movements of the user.

2. An artificial larynx comprising a casing having therein a tone producing element operated by passage of air through the casing, an air inlet port and an air outlet port, a mouthpiece by which the artificial larynx may be supported by the mouth of a user, a valve by operation of which the artificial larynx may be used as either a breather device or a tone producer, said valve operable by jaw movements of the user and comprising an aperture in the casing and a valve lever to open and close said aperture, said valve lever having a portion extending in a plane substantially parallel with the mouthpiece and entering the mouth of the user.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribemy name this'3rd day of January, 1980.

GEORGE W. BURCHETT. 

